The Blarney Castle and Grounds

The Blarney Castle

The day we spent at the Blarney Castle could not have been better. While it is largely a U.S. tourist attraction, advertising the castle for its legend of the Blarney Stone, the magic of the place lies beyond the castle walls. If you are not rushed by the tour operator to kiss the stone, grab lunch, and shop, you will find the best part of your visit on the multitude of walks around the acres of land surrounding the castle. I would have been disappointed to pay the hefty admission fee of 12 euros JUST for a 3 minute stroll to the castle, the winding ascent to the top, waiting in a queue with other tourists to have our legs held while sitting on the floor and bending backwards to kiss the blackened from use stone in the parapet of the castle. We left the castle for the conclusion of our tour, and headed towards the Badgers Cave. According to a legend, the cave was an entryway for the dug out passages leading towards 1) Cork, 2) Lake, 3) Kerry in the times when castle sieges took place. The plaque by the entrance states "But this being Blarney, the passages may be as hard to find as the gold..." I like these bits of Blarney...

Paul in the Badgers Cave

Rock Close area, believed to have ancient druids settlements 

We then set off on our walks towards the lake and through the fern forest. The place felt like a botanical garden with many plants on display tagged with their genus and species names. The clear skies and warm sun allowed for a very leisurely exploration of the grounds. There was a lot of ground to cover from various gardens to areas of druid settlements. Our entire visit took about 3 hours.

An impressive Fern Garden

Various chambers of the castle remains

The Blarney Stone - kissing which is believed to give one the "gift o' the  gab" (eloquence or flattery)

View from the castle onto the watchtower 

Winding staircases throughout the castle.

You can really appreciate how petite people were back then.
Some tourists ahead of us really struggled fitting through the narrow passageways throughout the castle. Speaking of food...

We shared a delicious lamb roast sandwich from the
Muskerry Arms Pub, look at the size of the thing

The afternoon skies were not as inviting, and our Cork city trip was a quick run through the town, stopping by the English Market, Post, and a coffee shop. As our short stay in Ireland was coming to an end, we paid a visit to Paul's grandfather. He is a very active 87 year old. He told us he was off to see the hounds, as we were leaving. We asked whether he was buying a dog. He was not, to be sure, to be sure... Tim hunts foxes with his friends every Sunday with 30 hounds. Hunting entails just chasing, as he astutely points out, if you kill them - there is nothing to chase next Sunday. Indeed.